Top diplomats of S. Korea and Japan sit down in Beijing

The top diplomats of South Korea
and Japan sat down face to face in Beijing on Wednesday.

The meeting between Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha and her Japanese
counterpart, Taro Kono, was held on the sidelines of a trilateral meeting with
their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

Their talks drew special
attention as the two countries are caught in a trade row. However, during the
talks, the two sides only confirmed their differences.

Tokyo imposed export curbs
against Seoul and removed the neighbor from its trade whitelist in an apparent
protest against the South Korean Supreme Court’s decision siding with Japan’s wartime
forced labor victims.

As its countermeasure, the South
Korean Government is known to be considering whether to renew the General
Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan because Tokyo
stated potential damage to national security for grounds of the export control.